Zia slowly walked through the dark hallway of the cabin to get to her area of the cabin. She shared the cabin with Ansel and a few other female circus members. She was grateful for a separate space, away from the men. Many of them disgusted her. She preferred things to be clean and in their place. Some the men behaved worse than hogs.
Carefully she walked through the hall and into the open cabin space. A faint light from the moon shone through the windows.
Suddenly, something caught her eye in the corner where her bed and closet were located. Red eyes stared right through her. She inhaled as though preparing to scream but stopped herself.
"Who…who are you?" She stammered as she stared, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness.
The image stood still as a statue, not responding to her question. She could barely make an outline surrounding the eyes. Her body froze still as her heart raced.
No one would hear her scream even if she tried. The cabin was too far away from everyone else.
Zia blinked her eyes hard, hoping the image would disappear when she reopened them, but it was still there. Was she dreaming?
Something about the image began to draw her towards it. She took the tiniest steps, easing her rapid heartbeat.
As Zia moved closer to the image, it vanished into a cloud of smoke. She gasped, as her body trembled at the realization that the image had reappeared behind her.
Afraid to turn around, Zia closed her eyes. "What do you want?" She whispered, barely getting the words to leave her trembling lips.
Her body felt drawn to this being, like she was being put into a trance. Her fear suddenly merged with excitement.
Zia built up the courage to open her eyes and come face to face with her visitor. As she began to turn around, a familiar voice interrupted her desire to meet her guest.
"Happy Birthday!" Ansel shouted, as she walked into the cabin with a fully lit cake with eighteen candles on it.
"Oh my goodness, Ansel, you scared me!" Zia said, catching her breath.
"Did you see who was here?" She asked.
"What do you mean Zia?" "You didn't see anyone or anything?" Zia asked with disbelief in her voice.
"Never mind. I am probably just tired Ansel." She said, thinking that it was all just a hallucination. She really was tired and frustrated.
The cake is beautiful. How did you get it?"
Well, I had to pull some strings for my favorite person in the world." She replied.
"Thank you so much, Ansel. You have never forgotten my birthday for as long as I remember."
"You're welcome, Zia. I have something else for you."
"Something else? The cake was so much already." Zia said, with tears beginning to form.
"Ansel you are the closest thing to a parent I have ever known. Thank you so much for being you."
"Oh sweetie, you are going to make me cry. Here. This is for you."
Ansel handed her a small white box with a pretty little pink bow on it. "What is this." Zia asked. "Well, you won't know until you open it will you?" She teased. "Of course." Zia replied, focusing on the little gift.
Zia gently pulled the end of the ribbon, unravelling the bow on top of the box. She carefully pulled the top off the box off, revealing a glimmering ring.
"Oh my goodness, its beautiful!" She said, taking the ring out of the box and placing it on her index finger.
The diamond framed; oval stone seemed to shift colors as it adjusted to Zia's finger.
"How did you get this, Ansel? I have never seen anything like it"
"Well my dear, it was in your basket that night when I brought you in from Damien's doorstep. I saved it for you so he wouldn't try to sell it or get rid of it.
You know how he feels about money. Everything has its price, even us." She said, lowering her eyes at the thought of it.
I figured it meant something important, so I took it out of the basket and hid it. So, keep it safe as I have for the last eighteen years my dear."
"Oh, thank you Ansel! You don't know what this means to me. It feels like a clue to my past, to who I really am." "I will keep it safe." Zia said, smiling with her fingers stretched out in front of her, as she admired her new adornment.
"Now, let's have some cake!" Ansel said, pulling out a knife to cut the beautiful chocolate cake.
"It's almost too pretty to eat." Zia giggled. "It is…almost." Ansel smiled, slicing straight through the cake.
A knock on the door that was still open, interrupted their moment of happiness before Zia could enjoy the first bit of cake. "I wonder who that is." Zia said, wondering if her visitor had returned.
Zia jumped up from her seat at their small table and walked towards the hallway.
Damien stood there, leaning on the door frame.
"A party? Am I not invited?" He asked with a phony smile on his face. Zia remained quiet.
"Of course you are welcome Damien. There is more than enough cake to go around." Ansel said, forcing a weak smile.
Damien picked up the fork he guessed was Zia's, dug it into her piece of cake and stuck a large chunk of it in his mouth. "It's a little dry, but it will do." He said, dropping the fork onto her plate as it bounced off with a loud clank hitting the floor.
Zia's eye's burned, as she clenched her hand into a fist. How dare he. She thought.
"I have good news for you Zia. After speaking to one of our guests, you will be meeting with him sooner than later. He wants to see you tonight." "For what, Damien?" She asked, confused.
"He wants you to dance for him." He replied. "Why? Did he not see me dance during my performance?"
"Yes, that is why he wants a private dance. We spoke about this, Zia."
"No, you told me about this. I said nothing. I don't want to do it!" "You seem to think, I was asking for your permission to send you to him. No, Princess. You have no choice. This man has paid a lot of money to see you. You will do as you are told." Damien said, emotionless.
Ansel tried her hardest to keep her composure. She couldn't hide the disgust she felt from her face.
"Today is my birthday, Damien!" Zia pleaded, keeping her distance from him. "Perfect timing doll. Now you are an adult." He smiled with a wink.
"Here, put this on." He said, throwing a sack at Zia. "What is this?" She asked. "Wear it. Now." He replied.
Zia reluctantly opened the brown sack. She reached in and pulled out a white lace, see-through bodysuit with a cover up.
"I am not wearing this." She shouted with tears streaming down her eyes. She had realized what kind of dance she would be expected to perform.
"Yes, you will. You have five minutes to get ready.
"The light doesn't work. It will be difficult to get dressed." She replied, scrambling to find a way out of what she was about to face.
"Ansel has cake candles. You will be fine. Hurry up." He said, beginning to sound annoyed.
Zia looked at Ansel with red, tear filled eyes and fear consuming her. Ansel gave her a sad, helpless look, knowing she couldn't do anything to help her.
"I will wait outside." Damien said, walking toward the side of the cabin to wait for Zia to finish getting ready.